A child in South Carolina has died from exposure to the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri at Lake Murray. The victim was 4 years old, and this is the first case of the amoeba in the state since 2016.
Experts say the amoeba is common in warm freshwater lakes and rivers, and can enter through the nose, get into sinuses, and travel up nerves to the brain. Infection is rare but nearly always fatal. According to the South Carolina Department of Public Health, there are only about 10 cases per year in the United States.
The agency advises recreational water users to assume that Naegleria fowleri is present in warm freshwater, but the risk of infection is very low. “This is not a threat to the general public,” said Dr. Linda Bell, South Carolina state epidemiologist. “Recreational water activities for the general public are actually quite safe.”
Source: https://www.wrdw.com/2025/07/22/where-sc-victim-was-exposed-brain-eating-amoeba